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The Badlands
'''The Badlands '''is a desolate tract of land located between Kai Duren and Fortuna, north of Elssyia. A harsh and inhospitable country, much of its land area is taken up by desert. Scholars say that in ancient times the Badlands were once lush and green, but according to legend the sins of the ancient Anubi people caused the Gods to rain fire down on the land and turn into what it is today. Still, small settlements of humans make their way in the desert, tilling crops and trading with elves and dwarves to survive. Terrain & Climate The primary terrain feature of the Badlands is its vast, red-sanded desert. Very little grows here, usually in the form of tough, brown weeds and shrubs. Desert organisms, notably the mighty apex predator the kreen worm, criss-cross their way across the sands harassing the various caravans attempting to cross to more suitable lands. On the edges of the Badlands, particularly the southern border with Elssyia, the land is slightly more fertile and can produce crops to sustain small villages. It is here where humans construct their villages and cities, notably the capitol city of Kaer Terra. In the northern regions of the Badlands lie the ruined cities of the ancient Anubi race. Rumored to have controled half the known world thousands of years ago, nearly all traces of their civilization lie buried in the red dust in the region called Ancient Anubi. Scholars make frequent expeditions to the area to uncover more artifacts and conduct research, but not all of them return. Demographics The population of the Badlands is primarily human. Badlanders are quite tough, and usually quick to anger. On the rare occasions that they migrate out of their native lands, they quarrel often with humans of other nations. They have bronzed skin from living in the harsh heat, and dark brown hair and eyes. Second to humans in the Badlands are the tieflings. It is rumored that long ago, the first tieflings were born as the result of a union between the dark god Mephistopheles and a Badlander woman. As such, tieflings and humans from the Badlands share a special bond. It is not uncommon for Badlands humans to take tiefling spouses and settle down, though such unions bear no children and consequentially the tiefling population in the area has declined steadily over the generations. West Corganans tend to view Badlanders as dirty and blasphemous for their willingness to marry tieflings- they refer to it as "bedding devils." Dwarves make up the third most populous portion of the Badlands. Migrating east of Kai Duren, it is the dwarves who struck ground to found the city of Kaer Terra. However, many dwarves continue on past the Badlands to eventually settle in Fortuna. Culture & Traditions Badlanders traditionally do not recognize gods in any modern sense. They blame them for the horrid conditions of the land, owing to the legend of the Anubi. Instead, most Badlanders revere nature and the elements themselves, assigning spirits to different aspects of the natural world in something more in line with Rlaysian religious practices. A farmer might pray to the spirit of rain, for instance, to keep his crops alive and growing strong during a particularly long dry spell. Badlanders recognize the need for human collaboration to survive in the harsh desert, and hold family as their chief loyalty. It is a foolish man who assumes he will ever be placed above family in the eyes of a Badlander. The color yellow is traditionally associated with good luck and is used in times of great worry to decorate the home and clothing. It also adorns the region's flag for this reason. See Also *Ancient Anubi Category:Nations